2021 LWF Easter message (Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton)
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Jn 20:11-18
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
My favorite story in the Scriptures is about Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of John, when she goes to the tomb. It was the first Easter, but Mary did not know it. She was expecting death. All the hopes and dreams, the joy and the promises associated with the new Jesus movement were gone. The promise of the just and merciful new kingdom of God that is coming, the new order where the last are first, the hungry are fed, tyrants are cast down from their thrones, and the lowly are lifted up. All gone. The illusion of naive people, with not the slightest connection to the ‘real world’. People had been ready to receive new life in Christ, but now it had all been lost, silenced by the ruling powers – the way of the state and of the world.
In her deep grief, Mary did not recognize Jesus. Only when Jesus called her by name could she see the risen Lord. Jesus saw Mary. Jesus knew Mary. Jesus said “Mary”. She was fully seen, fully known, and lovingly called, and so Mary Magdalene’s hope in the resurrection and in a deeper relationship with Christ was strengthened. Because Mary was seen, she too saw.
This is what I call Easter sight. We have been seen, known, and called by God through the crucified and risen Savior, and, having received the Spirit in baptism, we too can see. We can see Christ, and we can see Christ in those around us. No one is invisible to God, and no one is invisible to us. This changes our point of view at its very foundations. In truth, something more is happening than merely the mending of former things; no, Christ in fact makes us a new creation.
Imagine that we live in a reality that has already been brought about in the death and resurrection of Jesus and fills all flesh through the Spirit! Imagine the freedom to live well – as whole and unified, because we are seen and known as we are, and called by name to new life. Imagine a world in which every individual is clothed in a garment worthy of the image of God, each woven into a common, magnificent tapestry.
Of course, we live in a world in which this vision is not universally present. Yes, we still “see in a mirror, dimly”. But God has made us people of the promise. Therefore, dear friends, with eyes just opened, let us be brave and say: “Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!”
Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton is the LWF Vice-President for North America
Read the Easter message
CHICAGO, USA/GENEVA
03.04.2021
Source: Lutheran World Federation news
Photo: Pisit Heng Unsplash